Security Tokens Are a Security, and They Are the Future, Says BDO Partner

The bitcoin was created in 2009, during the financial crisis, following the distrust of investors in the financial system, said Zvi Shif, partner and head of the financial cluster at the Israeli branch of international accounting firm BDO. Speaking Wednesday at Calcalist’s annual Capital Markets Conference, held in Tel Aviv in partnership with BDO and Israel-based Psagot Investment House Ltd., Shif said that the development of ethereum further created utility tokens, which can be used to purchase goods or services but doesn’t award its holders with any future yields.

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The utility token bubble burst in 2018, Shif said, making way for the security token, which is a security in every aspect that gives its holder a right to an asset and an option to see that asset increase in value over time. You can also lose, of course, but the security token is the future, he said.

There are challenges, such as the need to create global regulatory compatibility, and to solve problems such as money laundering and taxation, Shif said. But the market potential is enormous, he said.

A new financial generation with no financial education

Children today are an entirely different financial generation—85% of teenagers shop online, said Erez Soffer, managing partner at BDO Israel, who also spoke at the event. Teens today shop incessantly, often buying things they don't actually need, Soffer said. "The inevitable conclusion is that we must address financial education," he said.

"We cannot leave financial education exclusively in the hands of regulators," Soffer said. "The next financial crisis, which is destined to hit at some point, will catch us less prepared than the 2008 crisis."